Blessed Maria Antonia Kratochwil (10/2) and the other SSNDs who were martyred during WWII are the patrons of
Shalom, our international network for justice, peace and the integrity of creation. May their sacrifice and willingness to risk all in faith for a more just and truly human world inspire us to do all we can to promote a culture of life and address the injustices of our time.

The feast of St. Francis of Assisi (10/4) is a fitting day to mark the end of the Season of Creation. In your ministries and communities, choose some way to once again pray for the protection of and care for our common home. The website
www.seasonofcreation.org has many resources. For those in the U.S., consider joining us in urging Congress to address climate change in a bipartisan way.
Learn more/take action.

The Global Catholic Climate Movement supports
The Big Shift away from fossil fuels and to support for renewables. Although World Bank President Jim Yong Kim has stated that inaction on climate change "would spell disaster for us, for our children, and for the planet", the World Bank still invests hundreds of millions each year in fossil fuel projects. We need this to change. The Big Shift asks the World Bank to commit to ending their funding for fossil fuel projects and to instead reinvest in renewable energy.
Learn more/take action.

Pope Francis kicked off "Share the Journey" at the Vatican on 9/27 with a symbolic gesture of reaching out to those displaced from their homes, who now number some 65 million around the world, the biggest such crisis since World War II.
Share the Journey is a two-year initiative by Caritas Internationalis to highlight Catholic teaching on migration and affirm the Church's commitment to assist our migrant sisters and brothers. As part of this campaign, the U.S. Catholic bishops have selected October 7-13 as a week of action for migrants and refugees.
Learn more. Urge President Trump and Congress to
welcome more refugees.

We support the call of the Leadership Conference of Women Religious to urge Congress to immediately take up and pass the bipartisan Dream Act of 2017 to protect the nearly 800,000 immigrants who came to the U.S. as children (DREAMers).
Make the call,
send an email.

Some 40.3 million people were trapped as slaves last year according to the first joint effort by key anti-slavery groups to count the victims of the often hidden crime worldwide. They estimate that 24.9 million people were forced to work in factories, on construction sites, farms and fishing boats, and as domestic or sex workers, while 15.4 million people were in forced marriages. Almost three out of every four people enslaved were women and girls and one in four was a child. Read more here and here. Also check out the latest Global Child Labor and Forced Labor report and consider downloading the related mobile app for Apple and Android phones/tablets.

We encourage you to let your voice be heard about three pieces of human trafficking legislation currently before Congress. The Trafficking Victims Protection Act (TVPA) is the foundational human trafficking legislation in the U.S. and it needs to be renewed. The SOAR Act would provide much needed funds for the training of healthcare workers. The Stop Enabling Sex Traffickers Act would allow victims of sex trafficking to sue internet companies that facilitated the crimes committed against them.
Learn more/take action.

This day began as a counter-celebration to Columbus Day, promoting Native American culture and the history of Native American peoples. It has slowly grown in many cities and states, promoting the fact that Columbus' "discovery" of an inhabited land and subsequent European colonization resulted in diseases, warfare, massacres and forced assimilation imposed on Native American peoples. Consider how you might support indigenous peoples and celebrate this day.

There are 1.1 billion girls today brimming with talent and creativity. But all too often their dreams and potential are thwarted by discrimination, violence and a lack of opportunity. There are major gaps in our knowledge about the specific needs and challenges that girls face. What gets counted, gets done. That's why this year's International Day of the Girl Child features a call for action for increased investment in collecting and analyzing girl-focused, girl-relevant data. Learn more, take action.

795 million people - one in nine - go to bed on an empty stomach each night. One in three suffer from some form of malnutrition. Goal two of the UN Sustainability Goals pledges to end hunger, achieve food security, improve nutrition and promote sustainable agriculture, and is the
priority of the World Food Program. Consider taking some time to reflect on the role
rural women and
farmers play in feeding the world. Learn more about poverty in the
U.S. and
Canada. Consider these World Food Day (10/16)
reflection resources, and this
reflection on poverty.

As Congress enters into discussions concerning the Fiscal Year 2018 budget, LCWR invites you to join NETWORK and sisters across the country in efforts to help ensure that the federal budget reflects the principles we hold dear - prioritize human needs programs, ensure funding to care for vulnerable members of our society, restore economic opportunity, promote care for creation and invest in the common good. Will you join us in this effort and write a letter to Speaker Paul Ryan? Learn more/take action.

"You must be the change you wish to see in the world." This statement summarizes Gandhi's life. Employing nonviolent civil disobedience, Gandhi helped free India from British rule and inspired movements for civil rights and freedom across the world. The title "Mahatma", Sanskrit for "great soul" or "venerable", applied to him first in 1914 in South Africa, is now used worldwide. One of Gandhi's sons noted that, "it's easy to say we cannot emulate someone like him when we put him on a pedestal. What we should do is see him as a normal, frail human being who strove to achieve something. We should emulate people like him, but not worship them."

She was an international leader who set a standard for the leadership of women and for advocacy for those most marginalized in our world. We invite you to go to the
Spirituality and Practice Website and take spend some time reflecting on Eleanor's quotes and determine their meaning in your life today.

October 24 marks the 72nd anniversary of the day the United Nations' Charter entered into force in 1945. Beyond promoting world peace, its role has grown to include protecting human rights, promoting social and economic development, and providing aid around the world in cases of famine, natural disaster and armed conflict. This day also marks the 184th anniversary of the day when
Caroline Gerhardinger and two young women in Neunburg vorm Wald, Germany began their religious life and ultimately the congregation of the School Sisters of Notre Dame. Consider what our commitment as SSND to world peace, protecting human rights and promoting personal development through education has achieved as we look to future commitments.

This week is an opportunity to raise awareness in ourselves, in the broader public and among governments about the crucial need to recognize disarmament as a key element in creating a more peaceful, just and sustainable world. You are encouraged to
urge your U.N. Ambassador (Canada - Marc-André Blanchard, U.S. - Nikki Haley) to sign the nuclear weapons ban, support organizations
working to stop the proliferation of weapons and to explore
ways that you might disarm yourself. It will not happen without our committed efforts.

The SSND International Shalom Network witnesses to the Gospel with audacity and hope as we collaborate to build just relationships and respond to the urgent needs of our times.

Shalom News North America is an e-publication of the Shalom North America Contacts (SNAC) of the School Sisters of Notre Dame - Arlene Flaherty, Ethel Howley, Jeanne Wingenter, Rose Mary Sander, and Tim Dewane. Your comments, suggestions, and feedback are always welcomed. Email us at
tdewane@ssndcp.org.